This invention relates to a feeder for animals of a type which is designed to allow ready cleaning of the feeder. The feeder is particularly but not exclusively designed for use with pigs.
Feeders for pigs generally comprise a trough which has a base wall resting upon the ground, a front wall which generally inclines upwardly and forwardly toward the pig with an upper edge of the front wall at a height which allows the pig to reach over to the base for grasping the feed. A rear wall is provided to confine the material into the trough. A hopper is positioned above the trough so the feed can be deposited into the trough for taking by the animal.
Dry feeders are available in which the hopper feeds directly onto the base wall and allows the material to spread out over the base wall for taking by the animal. The front edge of the hopper is positioned relative to the base wall so that the feed run onto the base wall at a required rate depending upon the flow characteristics of the material.
Various designs of wet feeder are available in which the animal generally grasps or operates a lever or the mechanism to cause feed to fall into the trough where it can be mixed with water supplied from a suitable dispensing nipple.
One particular design of feeder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,508 (Kleinsasser) which includes a trough and a shelf positioned above the trough with the feed falling onto the shelf and remaining on the shelf for accessibility by the animal. The shelf is positioned so that the animal can brush the feed on the shelf into the trough. This type of feeder can be used as a wet and dry feeder in which the trough is supplied with water nipples so that the feed can be taken in wet condition and the feed can also be taken directly from the shelf in dry condition. Alternatively the feeder can be used as a strictly dry feeder in which there is no water supplied to the trough and hence the feed is taken in dry condition both at the shelf directly and when brushed into the trough.
In modern hog raising plants it is necessary to insure that after each batch of pigs is processed, all of the equipment including the feeders is properly cleaned to prevent the spread of diseases from one batch to the next. It is essential therefore that each feeder is cleaned on a regular basis at least each time the batch of pigs is removed from the feeder to the next processing position. Feeders are generally cleaned by a high pressure jet of water or cleaning fluid which is injected into the feeder to wash the materials from the feeder. In many feeder designs this is very difficult to do unless the feeder is bodily moved into a different orientation, for example in some cases it is necessary to invert the feeder to access all points for cleaning and to insure that the feeder is fully emptied of water. It is not possible for the feeder to be used with any substantial quantities of water remaining in the feeder which will prevent the feed from properly flowing when replaced in the feeder. It is appreciated that the cleaning of feeders using high pressure jet cleaning fluid is an unpleasant task particularly in situations where the cleaning fluid rebounds or is thrown back from the feeder toward the operator. It would be particularly preferred if the cleaning jet could be properly directed from the feeder to the floor since the floor is generally perforated and designed for collecting liquid waste.
However little attention to this aspect has been given to recent feeder designs and most are difficult to clean with the difficulty applying most particularly to dry feeders.